This little-known work by Jeremy Bentham, the great English philosopher and originator of utilitarianism, was considered so controversial in its time that it was first published in 1822 under the pseudonym "Philip Beauchamp." The focus of his critical treatise is natural religion, a school of thought that maintained one could use reason alone, unaided by faith, to deduce the will of God from the natural order. Divided into two parts, Bentham's argument first criticizes the major tenets of belief in a supreme being and its alleged benefits to humanity. He then catalogs the many ways in which natural religion harms both individuals and society.